Frost and Night Fury: Rot of Mandrake
by cjupsher
Summary: The world is in danger as a vengeful spirit of rot and decay returns. This time he seeks to rot away the entire world. Its up to Frost and Night Fury to stop him. Horrible at summaries.
1. Chapter 1

**How bad can this possibly be?**

It was a late night. The moon was in its Gibbous phase and shining down on the beautiful and quiet forest below. Two individuals trekked through the trees, flashlights in hand and surveying the surrounding area.

The two individuals were environmentalists. Devoted to defending and protecting this forest which resided in a large nature preserve. The preserve was large, and filled with flora and fauna, and the two individuals smiled at the sight of it all around them.

But they weren't there to just admire the trees.

They were investigating. They'd received an anonymous tip that industrial waste was being dumped into the lake that supplied water to the preserve. And if these serious allegation rang true then actions had to be taken immediately.

So they persevered and soon they cleared the trees and came upon the lake. The light of the moon reflected off its still surface and they both smiled at the beautiful sight.

But their smiles faded as they peered across the lake and at a noticeable glimmer of light gleaming across the waters at the opposite shore. At first they believed it was perhaps a campfire, but opted to investigate. They began to trek around the lake, keeping their eyes on the light as they went.

But the closer they got to it, the more they took note of the changes to the flora around them. Trees were bare of leaves, which was strange given the time of the year. The bushes as well were devoid of foliage and the forest was dead silent. And the closer they got the ground itself seemed to grow greyer and dull.

They eventually came upon the lights, finding it to be a small company of vehicles. There were several large tanker trunks, one of which was near the lake's edge. And they could both see the black substance being dumped into the lake, likely industrial waste.

The two environmentalists exchanged a glance before one of them pulled out their phones to begin recording. They were gathering evidence, making sure to get everything to ensure they would stop this now. They zoomed into the logo on the trucks too, that way they knew who to blame.

Unfortunately in order to get as much evidence as they could the one recording had stepped into the open ever so slightly. And in a stroke of bad luck one of the many men happened to spot them out of the corner of their eyes.

The alarm was raised that they were being watched and the the men with the trucks charged to apprehend the two environmentalists. The two had run, trying to get away so they could expose the crimes happening to the preserve. But they were caught. The numerous men grabbed them roughly, snatching away their phones before dragging them back to the trucks and surrounding them.

They were shoved to their knees while being held by the men. They looked up and around, wondering what was in store for them when the men before them parted to allow another figure to step up to them.

The man was tall and thin. Unlike the men dressed in simple black clothing he wore an extravagant green striped tailcoat with a tall black top hat. He wore long gloves and black pants and expensive black shoes. His eyes were concealed behind pitch black sunglasses.

He walked up to them, fingers pressed together in contemplation at this probably unexpected development. And then suddenly gave them a smile. "Hey there folks. Nice night isn't it?" he said in greeting. The two captives remained silent, confused and apprehensive.

"Now I bet you're wondering what _this_ is all about," he said as he gestured around at the entire scene. "Well, I'm just doing teensy little off the books waste disposal," he said with a shrug.

"Now, down to business," he began as he reached into his coat and pulled out a small booklet and a pen. "How much is this going to cost me to keep you both quiet on this?" he asked the two of them. There was a moment of silence as he awaited their answer. When none came he pressed.

"Come on now. Name your price. Seriously, I'm loaded," he insisted.

"You can't buy our silence," one of them said in defiance.

"We're going to tell people. You're killing the forest. This is bad," the other one said loudly.

The man's smile faded. He put away his checkbook and pen before staring at the two of them in silence.

"How bad can this _possibly_ be?" he asked rhetorically, shrugging as if what he were doing wasn't doing any damage. He suddenly raised a hand up and snapped his finger. A few of his men came up to the environmentalists.

Their mouths were grabbed and pried open, and as they struggled something was shoved inside their mouths. There were forced shut and made to swallow the foreign objects. They blanched for a moment before suddenly night became day, the sky turned pink, and they felt better than they had in their whole lives.

Daze smiled split their faces as they ceased struggling and forgot why they were here and what was happening around them.

The man in the suit called out to his men, "Drop them off at the city and get back to work!" he ordered. His men obeyed. The man went to the tree line as he observed their work. He stood beside a tree and reached a hand out to lean against it.

After a moment the spot where his hand was touching the tree began to turn black. It spread, circling the trees trunk and spreading upward and downward. The bark began peeling away as the tree became weaker and weaker before it was dead, rotted away from his touch.

"I'm not bad," the man said to himself lowly. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at nothing. "Am I?" he suddenly asked, beginning to wonder and doubt his own words.

 **Of course not** , suddenly said a voice that only he could hear. **You're only doing what's natural. And how could that possibly be bad?**

The man smiled, mind put at ease. "Yeah. Of course," he said in agreement.

 **Soon you'll have all you ever wanted. And everyone else will see things the way you do.**

"Yeah. What was I thinking. Bad, pshhh. Yeah right."

And just like that he waved it off, not caring about the harm he was causing. Only what his efforts would ultimately get him in the end.

* * *

 **New Night Fury/Frost story**


	2. Chapter 2

**Mandrake**

Jack sat on the windowsill of the Guardian's base of operations as he waited for North to retrieve him. He'd been called out of the blue his his old team leader and asked to immediately come to the North Pole to discuss an urgent matter. Jack had complied, knowing North would call him and ask him to come in unless it was very important.

He wondered what the old alchemist could possibly need of him? The Guardians usually handled everything on their own, even after he'd gone.

He sighed in boredom and looked up at the moon. He stared at it, like he usually did. And as always it dredged up thoughts that he preferred to keep buried.

"Jack!" Jack turned away from the window as North strolled up to him. "Come. Time to get down to business," North said. Jack nodded and slid off the window sill to follow after him.

* * *

Thousands of miles away in the city of Berk, in the underground hideout of his cliffside home was Hiccup. The young man was in his lab, garbed in his Night Fury armor and standing a few meter from a large slab of steel. The slab of metal was a few feet thick and incredibly durable, a perfect target.

He raised up his left hand, clenching his fist and bending it at his wrist. There was a glow from the back of his hand before a green laser shot out. It hit the slab of metal dead center and began to melt a hole straight through it.

Within moments the center of the slab had liquified, allowing the laser to pass right through.

Hiccup smiled to himself before a warning on the information display warned him of his suit's energy levels. He shut off the laser and dropped his arm, taking a moment to admire his work before removing the armor. It split apart and opened in the back, allowing him to slip out. He made his way to his computer, taking a seat on a rolling chair. He hit a button on his keyboard to start taking a audio journal.

"I've done it," Hiccup began, his tone carrying unconcealed pride in himself. "I've successfully reverse engineered the Iron Giant's weapons and incorporated it into my own."

Hiccup had been tinkering with the scraps and remnants of the destroyed Giants for months. It had been a bit slow going at first, the alien technology and circuitry baffling him. But eventually he'd come to grasp it. When he had he was able to copy it, make version of their weapons and incorporate the new tech into his armors.

"Although using the Giants' weapons drain the power of plasma core fairly quickly. I'm trying to come up with a solution to this in the form of a next generation plasma core combining the alien power source with my own," he continued. The batteries that powered the Giants' were amazing, able to last decades from what he'd seen with the Iron Giant and powering all their devastating weapons with which he could've battled an army single handed.

"Though this next generation core is still in the design stages," he admitted. "Regardless, I'm quite pleased with myself," he said with a smile. "I've even made a few new armors. I'm going to call them...the _Edge_ series, because they're on the cutting edge of technology."

He stood up and shuffled through a few drawers of his desk before pulling out two special item. "The Giants also gave me another idea," he began. "Every single piece of them, down to the wires, nuts, bolts, and screws is capable of becoming autonomous. They're all capable of moving independently and can even reunite to rebuild the Giants."

"While I'm not able to replicate this to the exact same degree, it made me eager to try something else," he said as he placed two bracelets on either of his wrists. The bracelets were black with the emblem of Night Fury adorning each one. He activated both of them before looking to his still armor.

"Let's see how it goes this time," he said. He took a breath and then extended his left hand. He made a gesture with his finger and waited.

From the armor the left gauntless detached itself and flew toward him. Hiccup braced himself and kept his hand out as it came flying at him, propelled by tiny thrusters. It latched onto him, making his arm jerk back from it's momentum.

He looked down at it with a smile and laughed, thrilled that it was working. He extended his other free hand and the other gauntlet flew toward him before attaching to his other hand.

"Yes," Hiccup said happily. Hiccup then pointed both index fingers at his chest. The chest plate of the armor detached and flew toward him. It collided with him, making him stagger back against his desk.

"Got to work on the thrusters," he said, a little short of breath due to the collision. He took a another breath, one by one pointing to his legs, then back, and lastly his face. And one by one pieces of his armor detached to fly toward him and latch on, building around him before he was once again fully armored.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," he muttered to himself in satisfaction. These new modification to his armor would definitely come in handy. And these new weapons, the would most certainly get him and his friends out of any few jams.

And maybe that would make up for not telling them about it in the first place.

Hiccup had never revealed that he'd been experimenting and studying the alien technology. He wasn't sure how his friends would take it. Frankly he thought they'd probably try to convince him he shouldn't trifle with things he didn't understand.

But that's what science was. Studying something unknown to learn how it worked. And after what almost happened in rockwell, it was obvious to him that they definitely needed to make some improvements to their arsenal.

Suddenly he his helmet pulled up an alert. A crime in progress in Berk. Hiccup hummed as he was informed of someone trying to rob a...flower shop.

With nothing to do he decided to check it out. Though he figured he'd probably fly right over right as the suspect was apprehended.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the North Pole Jack followed North into the strategy room, where someone was supposed to be waiting for them. North walked in first before holding the door open for Jack. Jack waltzed right in and took a look around for whomever they were meeting only to find the room...empty.

Jack rounded on North with a raised brow, "What gives North? I thought you said we were meeting with someone?"

"We are," North said as he brushed past Jack and walked toward the table. He turned and around and held up a hand to gesture to something. "Jack. Say hello to her Majesty, Queen Tara. Ruler of the leafmen," he said.

Jack stared at North in confusion before taking a step closer. And then finally he glanced down. That's when he finally took note of two tiny figures standing atop the table. He moved a bit closer before bending down.

Now that he was closer and at about eye level he could more easily make out the leaf men. From what he recounted, the leaf men were said to be a species of wingless nature fairies. They were known to take up residence in dense forests, defending and helping it's flora flourish.

"Oooohhhh, there they are. Sorry guys, you're just so tiny," Jack apologized. The Queen, seemed to smile and, but upon trying to respond Jack found he couldn't hear anything.

"Sorry, didn't catch that," Jack apologised.

"Your Majesty, perhaps it's best you join us at our level? Hmm?" North suggested.

The Queen gave a nod before her whole form began to radiate a golden light. Tiny specks of light began to fly out of her and then started twist and spiral around her and her companion in a vortex of magic. Jack shielded his eyes against the brightness, his clothes being whipped by the breeze being generated by the spectacle.

Then the light faded, allowing Jack to lower his arm and finally take in the Queen and her companion. Jack's eyes widened as her now human size made him realize how beautiful she was.

The Queen was dark skinned and tall. With brown hair tied behind her head in a ponytail. She wore a long dress that resembled a flower, with the portion covering her torso green like leaves and the lower portion white like petals.

The Queen gave a small laugh at his stunned expression, brown eye twinkling in amusement before introducing yourself. "Hello young Guardian. I am Tara, Queen of the Leafmen," she said in a formal introduction.

Jack blinked as his brain caught up to him. He flinched before offering his hand and a greeting of his own. "Oh yeah, uh...hi. I'm Jack," he said as he held his hand out.

His hand was suddenly swatted away by the queen's companion. "Don't address the Queen so casually Guardian. Show some humility," he ordered disapprovingly. The man, her companion looked like a warrior, and his very demeanor only seemed to enhance this. He wore a suit of green armor that resembled those worn by samurai. Over his armor was a white and gold vest of some sort, possibly indicating his rank and position. He had short greying hair, and a wore a serious expression.

"Now Ronin, that's really not necessary," Tara said to him.

"No, he's right," Jack interrupted. He cleared his throat before dropping to a knee and giving a bow. "Forgive me, Queen Tara of the Leafmen. My behavior did not befit your status," he said in a more formal, respectful greeting.

"That's better," Ronin said in satisfaction, arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face.

Tara gave him a disapproving elbow to the ribs before looking down at Jack. "Raise your head Guardian. There is no need to address me in such a manner."

With a nod Jack rose up to stand. "As Your Majesty wishes."

"Now with all greeting out of the way, shall we continue?" North said, speaking up for the first time in a few minutes.

"Yes," Tara said with a nod. Tara's easy and warm smile faded. Replacing it was a pensive and worried look. She remained silent, trying to find the right words to explain.

"We've come to you North, because we think that only the Guardians can handle this," Ronin chimed in. "An old enemy has returned. Mandrake," Ronin revealed, saying the very last name with a hint of ire and hate.

North's eyes widened before he crossed his arms and began to stroke his beard thoughtfully. "Hmm. Yes. This is...quite bad."

Jack just kind of stood there, confused. "Uh sorry," he said sheepishly. "But I'm like...the only one here who doesn't know who that is."

"Mandrake was...is, King of the Boggins. Eternal enemy of the Leafmen and our Queen," he stated.

"Yes. But he was destroyed, and his spirit trapped ages ago by the Sorcerer Supreme," Tara added. She shook her head, eyes dropping to the ground. "I don't understand how he could have returned."

"Moon Man?" Jack said curiously. Everyone nodded. "How can you be sure he's back?"

"We're sure," Ronin stated, leaving no room for questioning.

"I think I may know how Mandrake's spirit returned to our world," North spoke up. Everyone looked to him while he looked to Jack. "The incident that occurred with your new team, the one where thousands of dark spirits were unleashed upon the world."

Jack's eyes bulged in his sockets in realization. "But we used a spell to call them all back. There's no way-" he paused mid sentence. There were never any definites when it came to magic. No spell was full proof.

"Oh yeah. That," Ronin. He looked to North, "Got to say North, the Guardians seem to have become a little lax since my time on the team."

Jack looked to Ronin in shock. "You were a Guardian!"

Jack knew that the Guardian's roster had changed throughout the millennia, with new magical beings coming and going as they saw fit. But until now he'd never actually met a former member.

"As thanks to the Sorcerer Supreme for helping us defeat Mandrake," he explained with a shrug. "I wasn't a Guardian for long before returning to my Queen's side," he explained as he motioned to Tara beside him. She smiled sideways at him fondly.

"I'd heard the rumors," Ronin began as he cast a critical gaze upon Jack. "That he'd given up his life to save the life of another. I thought that this person would be his successor. Not...this," he said as he gestured to Jack.

"Ronin!" Tara said sharply to rebuke him.

"I assure you that Jack has proven himself worthy of Moon Man's blessing," North said to Ronin. Ronin snorted but didn't have a rebuttal.

"Now then, back to Mandrake," North said to steer them all back to their original discussion. "Your Majesty, if you will follow me," he said. He led everyone out of the room and to the very command center of the Guardian's base.

Poised in its center was a large globe and surrounding it were computers and monitors. The Yetis diligently surveyed the data on the monitors while the globe rotated. Dotting its surface were many lights, all in various places. They were meant to visually show magical disturbances in need of investigating, with North's state of the art sensors able to pick up even the minutest of fluctuation in the world.

"Now then Your Majesty," North said as he stood before the globe. "is there anyway you can help us pinpoint where Mandrake may be?"

Tara looked up at the globe, stepping forward. Her eyes scanned along its surface. "I have an innate connection to the earth and its plant life. All over the world I can feel them dying, succumbing to the forces of man," she said.

Jack mentally cringed in guilt, feeling like he was definitely part of the blight that was 'man.'

"But here," she said as he pointed to a spot on the globe. The location lit up, a city somewhere in the U.S. "Here I can definitely detect Mandrake's influence."

"Hmmm," North hummed. "Alright. Now that we know where it is, Jack will go and handle this."

There was a beat of silence before Jack realized what North had said. "Wait, what!"

"Him. Alone?" Ronin said incredulously. "I thought the Guardian's would handle this."

"The other Guardians and I are all busy with other matters. Jack will be more than enough to deal with Mandrake," North explained. "Plus he has a team of his own to assist him."

"Whoa North, appreciate the vote of confidence, but maybe we should get the old team back together for this."

"Nonsense," North immediately countered in rejection. "Jack is more than enough for Mandrake. He has no army of Boggins and he's merely a spirit," he reasoned.

"Oh come one North. You can't be-"

"Very well," Tara interrupted. Ronin looked to her in bafflement. "If you truly believe that Jack can handle this alone, then I have no qualms in letting him go after Mandrake unaccompanied."

"Your Majesty-" Ronin sputtered.

"I think Jack will be fine Ronin," she said before locking eyes with her companion and subject. "Don't you?" she said, her words edged.

Ronin's mouth closed and his eyes flicked to Jack. He frowned blatantly at him before sighing. "No, Your Majesty. If North believes Jack can do it. Then I trust _him_ ," he said in acceptance.

Tara smiled and clapped her hands together. "Excellent," she said. She opened her hands and sitting in them was a small transparent orb. She held it out to Jack and said, "You'll need this."

Jack eyed it before gingerly picking it up. He turned it over in his hand, finding it to be filled with liquid and containing what looked like some kind of closed pod of some sort.

"This pod contains a small amount of my power. Use it under a full moon to undo the damage Mandrake has inflicted. "Also," she said as she held out her hand. From the sleeve of her dress a flower began to grow. It bloomed into a white flower before she plucked it off and held it out toward him. "I don't know if Mandrake has regained his original form just yet. If he's still spirit he may be possessing a human," she said grimly.

"This flower, when near him, it will start to wilt and die. Use it to find him," she explained. Jack took the small white flower from her hand. He pocketed both her items into his suit and nodded in understanding.

The Queen gave him a warm smile. "I believe in you, young Guardian. I know you will find and defeat Mandrake." She then looked to North. "I believe it's time I returned to my kingdom North."

"Yes Your Majesty," North said with a nod. He reached into a pocket of his pants and pulled out one of his flux globes, devices that allowed him to rip open holes in space for instantaneous travel to anywhere.

He threw it into the air, it exploded in a flash of light before a shining portal appeared before them.

"Thank you for your help Guardians," she said gratefully as she took a step toward the portal. She looked to Jack and smiled at him. "I believe in you Jack."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Jack said with a bow and a smile of his own.

With a nod Tara faced the portal and walked into it, disappearing into its light.

Ronin made to follow but paused. He looked back, eye meeting Jack's. He held his gaze, his eyes showing uncertainty before he took in a breath. "Good luck kid," was all he offered before disappearing after his queen.

A moment later the portal vanished with a light flash, becoming a flux globe again before returning to North's hand and then his pocket.

"You'd better be getting on your way Jack," North said as he turned to leave and go about his own business.

"Right," Jack said. He decided the first thing to do was meet up with Hiccup back in Berk and fill him in. He could definitely use Hiccup's brain power for this.

"So...where exactly am I heading North?" Jack asked as he began to rise into the air.

"Ah yes," North said, stopping as he remembered that he needed to tell Jack where to go. He looked up to the young cryomancer and told him.

"Thneedville. You're headed to Thneedville."

* * *

 **new chap**.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thneedville**

Hiccup was flying into Berk to see if he could assist the police. Though he was sure by the time he reached it the culprit would surely be apprehended. He spied the flower shop, and five police cars parked outside of it. Hiccup couldn't help but arch a brow, wondering why so many police were there for a simple flower shop robbery.

He landed on the sidewalk, wondering if he should stay when suddenly a police officer came flying out of the shop window. Hiccup watched as he rolled across the sidewalk. Then he could hear the shouts of a struggle from inside the shop.

He approached before peering into the broken window to find several police officers trying to apprehend the culprit. The cops were visibly struggling, trying to wrestle him down as the man fought. What was startling was that the man was of average size, which should have made the four police officers more than capable of subduing them. But he trashed, flailed, and screamed wildly, throwing an officer into into a shelf of potted plants.

Soon another officer was thrown off, rolling across the floor. Then the last two were dislodged. One of the officer reached down and grabbed a taser while another got up and grabbed his baton. The officer with the taser took aim and fired, hitting the man in the chest while the baton wielding office charged in.

But the taser hardly seemed to do anything as the man slugged the officer charging him in the face and sent him to the ground. Before he directed his attention to the officer with the taser.

Seeing the officers' struggle, fearing for their safety, and the fact that may decided to use deadly force soon, Hiccup decided it was time to step in. He opened the door and entered the building as he began to approach the man.

"Sir," he said to get his attention. The man turned his attention to Hiccup. His scanners immediately zoomed in on his eyes, noting his dilated pupils while also measuring an increased heart rate. Hiccup made a guess and assumed that this man was in a drug induced rage.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask that you desist and surrender. If not, I will use force to subdue you," Hiccup warned. The man yelled and charged him, fist cocked back, Hiccup tensed, hardly believing that this man was actually going to try and hit him barehanded.

And sure enough the man through and punch, fist colliding with his metallic, helmet covered head. Hiccup winced as he heard the man's fingers break. But despite his hand he kept swinging and attacking, trying to injure the armored hero.

Hiccup had no choice, he took a swing, his metallic fist ringing against the man's skull and sending him to the floor.

Hiccup stared down at the man to ensure he wouldn't get up. He didn't. Hiccup looked to the officers as they began to gather to cuff the man. Hiccup suggested they call an ambulance. They did so, when it pulled up Hiccup asked for the EMTs to draw a blood sample. They complied before Hiccup took it.

With a goodbye he flew off, leaving the authorities to handle the rest.

When he got back to his base he went to his lab gave the blood vial to Eve for analysis.

* * *

A few hours later Frost flew into the base. He searched for Hiccup, finding him at the supercomputer. His friend was looking over data on the computer as he walked up.

"Hey Hiccup," Jack said.

"Hey Jack," Hiccup said as he kept his attention on the computer. "How was your meeting with the Guardians?" he inquired.

"Good. Just got a mission to stop a threat that could destroy humanity. Nothing out of the norm," Jack said casually.

"Whoa," Hiccup said, that having caught his attention. He swiveled in his chair to look up at his friend. "What this about a threat to humanity?" Jack gave him brief recount of what he'd learned at the Guardians' stronghold.

"So an evil spirit of rot and decay that goes by Mandrake?" Hiccup asked to make sure he'd gotten the gist of it.

"Yep."

Hiccup gave a hum before turning back to his computer. He placed his chin in his hands, a new thought occurring to him.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Hiccup said lowly. "If Mandrake was a spirit trapped in the dark dimension, and he got out even after we were supposed to have sealed it…"

"Then how many more got out?" Jack finished.

They remained silent for a few moments, the thought of more dark spirits somewhere in the world causing destruction and chaos weighing heavily on their minds.

Hiccup closed his eyes and took a breath. "We'll deal with that when the time comes," Hiccup said. Jack gave a nod in agreement. "So, where is this Mandrake guy?"

"Thneedville." Hiccup's eyes widened. Jack noticed and asked, "Something up Hiccup?"

"Yeah. Something happened today," he began. He gave his own recount of the event at the flower shop. Then he turned around and pressed a button on his keyboard. A picture of a man came up.

"This is the guy?" Jack asked.

"Yeah."

"This guy has to weigh what, 160 pounds? How the hell could he throw around five cops?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"He seemed to be in a drug induced frenzy. I had the EMTs take a blood sample. I had Eve do an analysis on it. She found high levels of epinephrine in his."

"Adrenaline?"

"Yeah. Alongside high levels of dopamine," Hiccup added.

"Whoa," Jack said. "So this guy would be so hopped up he wouldn't feel anything," Jack reasoned.

"Yeah. And the adrenaline could explain why the cops couldn't take him down. The body can do some pretty incredible things during an adrenaline rush. But that's not the weirdest thing."

"It gets weirder?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. I'm getting what looks like evidence of a drug frenzy. But I can't actually find any traces of drugs in his system," Hiccup said curiously.

"That is weird."

"Recently I've been investigating rumors of a new drug being released on the streets. One of its many street names is Thneed," Hiccup explained. "It seems like it's being made in only one place. Care to take a guess where?"

"Thneedville?" Jack asked. Hiccup gave a nod. "Think they're connected?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Too early to tell."

"Think we should get the girls in on this?"

Hiccup gave a hum and rubbed his chin. "I don't think we're there just yet. I think we can handle it."

"Alright. Well I need to head to Thneedville," Jack said.

"I'm going to stay here for now. Keep investigating and see what I can find."

"Alright," Jack said with a nod. He stood there and reached into his pocket, pulling out a flux globe. "Had North give me a new one and program it to open a portal to Thneedville. Faster than flying."

"Clever. Alright Jack, good hunting."

With a nod Jack lobbed the orb. It exploded in a flash of blinding white light and a portal to Thneedville was before him. With a quick wave goodbye Jack floated off the ground and through it.

He found himself floating high above the city of Thneedville. It was night time, with the building and street alight and cars passing underneath. Jack took a breath, and he immediately began to hack and cough as he inhaled smog.

He flew lower to get away from it and to a level where he could breath normally. He took another breath and then reached into his pocket. He pulled out the flower that Queen Tara had given him. He stared down at it before looking over the city.

Then he began to fly around, glancing at the flower and then at city as he searched for Mandrake.

* * *

Meanwhile, leaving the security gates of Thneedville's own, O'Hare Chemical, was an 18-wheeler hauling a trailer. The driver inside hummed to himself and tapped thrummed his fingers on the steering wheel along to the music as he drove. The night was going on as it usually did.

But unbeknownst to the driver, his night was about to get a whole lot more exciting.

For someone was following the truck from the tops of buildings, moving with incredible speed and agility.

Hazel eyes were locked onto it, narrowed in determination as their owner followed behind, clearing gaps between rooftops, shuffling up piping, over air conditioning units. Waiting for the perfect moment.

The truck came to a rolling stop at a red light. The pursuer put on a burst of speed, getting closer and closer as the light turned green and the truck took a right. The pursuer leapt off, leaping onto the back of a smaller trailer truck before leaping onto the back of a family sedan, startling the driver as he heard the loud thump on top of his car.

The purser vaulted to another car, then another and another, getting ever closer. The truck came to another stop at a red light. The pursuer caught up leaping up onto the trailer and running to the front. They leapt off and onto the roof of the 18- wheeler, making the driver look up in confusion.

Suddenly the glass of the driver side window was shattered. He shouted in alarm before the next thing he knew he was being thrown out and into the street. He picked himself up and stared at the back of his truck driving away from him.

* * *

Jack had flown around the city for at least a hour. But the flower had shown no visible changes. He sat at the edge of a building, rubbing his eyes as the lateness of the night began to wear on him.

The city was just so damn big. The flower was so supposed to wilt when he got near Mandrake. But he needed to find a way to narrow down his location. Otherwise he was on a wild goose chase.

Suddenly his communicator went off. He pulled it out and it alerted him to a police pursuit of a 18-wheeler. Jack pursed his lips, wondering if he had time to help out when he was supposed to be finding Mandrake. But with a sigh he stood up and took to the air.

It wasn't long before he heard the tell tale wail of sirens and soon he was flying over a procession of police cars pursuing a speeding 18-wheeler. Jack's eyes widened as it was speeding straight for the gates of a complex.

Jack was too late to do anything as it smashed through the gates and slammed into the building, causing what was likely to be thousands of dollars worth of damage. Then it exploded, the truck and building went up in a great fireball as Jack stopped in midair to gape at the scene.

The police cars began gathering around the scene as Jack looked on. The police exited their cars, attention focused on the burning trailer. But Jack's bird's eyes view let him catch a glimpse of something else.

Someone fleeing the scene, high tailing it away. Suspicious Jack pursued, wondering if this had been the truck thief. The person was swift, and with amazing agility and skill began began to scale building to end up on the rooftops.

Deciding to bring this chase to an end Jack waved his cane, shooting out spikes of that shot down to imbed themselves in the path of Jack's suspect.

Jack hovered behind him as they came to a stop.

"Hey there friend. Where's the fire?" Jack asked.

The man whirled around, letting Jack take in a man dressed in green armor, his face obscured by a mask with a pointed helmet on his head, and a sword at his hip. Jack was momentarily stunned at the sight, for the man's armor was...familiar.

"Who-" he began to ask, only for the man to throw his hand out. Jack could make out several swift moving projectile flying at him. He jerked to the side as they flew by, whistling through the air. The man threw more, Jack raised his staff and batted them aside, though one sank into the wood of his staff.

Suddenly the man drew his sword and leapt at him. Jack jerked out of the way to avoid the mid air slash, dropping to the ground as his enemy rushed him. Jack was immediately on alert as the man came within striking distance and started swinging.

Jack blocked an overhead swinging before ducking a swing at his right. He spun away from a swift diagonal slash before counterattacking, swinging the hooked end of his staff at him. The man leapt back before spinning on his heel and throwing out his leg. Jack held his staff up and blocked the kick.

The two of them kept up their close ranged battle, both evenly matched and unable to get in a decisive blow.

Jack backed up before thrusting his staff forward. The winds surged and began to blow against his opponent. The man braced himself, arms raised against the sting of the cold winds as they began to blow him back.

They blew him back against the edge of the building before they stopped. The man leaned back against the edge, eyes locked onto Jack's.

"Now then, who the hell-"

The man suddenly threw his arm out as more projectiles went flying at Jack. Jack sidestepped them, one narrowly passing by his face. Jack glanced back to see them imbedded in a piece of the building before looking to the man to find him gone. He went to the edge and looked around, but found no one. Then he flew upward to get a better view.

Nothing. Jack growled in frustration at having failed to catch or question the man. Then he looked to his staff to see one of the man's projectile's still stuck in his staff. He reached out and pulled, ripping it out before examining it.

The thing was made of metal, incredibly sharp, and in the shape of a leaf.

"The hell," Jack muttered to himself.

Jack blinked, trying to wrap his mind around his encounter.

"Was that guy a...leafman?"

* * *

new chap


End file.
